I've always returned to Architectural's work, but the moment I heard Witches’ Dance, I became completely drawn to his mesmerizing spaced-out universe. There’s a certain escapism to his sound, which comes as an invitation to an alternative reality, where Kafka-esque stories are being told through noise instead of words, and abstract paintings become cohesive sonic canvases.

With his latest EP, Cubismo (which obviously draws inspiration from the early-20th century artistic movement), Juan Rico aka Architectural, does what he knows best - deconstructs the reality around him and rebuilds it in a way that reflects his aesthetic without repeating himself. The EP offers both dance-floor ready raw techno cuts, as well as a rather cinematic series called Lost in Buenos Aires, which is the perfect introduction to the mix he prepared for the Brvtalist. No. 081 feels like more the work of a narrator who guides us through different sections of a movie, which unfolds itself with each step surprising both the listener and the storyteller. The mix captures the essence of Juan Rico’s approach to music, his penchant for fragmentation of sounds sequences, but also his constant drive to experiment and to open up to new avenues of interdisciplinary arts.

The EP ‘Cubismo’ went out on December 9th 2016 and you can buy it from here. For those of you living in Berlin, make sure you catch Architectural on February 10th at Suicide Circus.

-Marie Bungau
@mariebungau